Cover Story: Murder, The Mob... And Cocaine

In the summer of 2021 Europe was outraged by the murder of renowned Dutch investigative journalist Peter de Vries. Yet this was no isolated murder. A variety of mobs, mafias and guns for hire have been killing for every container, kilogram or even line of coke for years. And the true inundation of narcotics may only be just beginning.

By Preston Smith

On the evening of July 6, 2021, at a time when Europe was still mired in the economic and political turmoil of the COVID-19 epidemic, a lone investigative journalist—a veritable rock star in his profession—hurriedly left the television studio of RTL Boulevard in Amsterdam.

Undoubtedly, there was much on his mind. If anything, this was undoubtedly pretty much always the case. De Vries was both famous and infamous for solving mysteries, for taking on the highest powers on both sides of the law. And of late he had taken up yet another cause—this both dangerous and highly controversial: De Vries had decided to come to the aid of and publicly support Nabil B., a state’s witness in a narco-murder bust. And this was not just any run-of-the-mill murder either. Or even just one killing. This was the high-profile “Marengo” investigation—a case that focused on the “Mocro” organized crime group, a Moroccan gang tied to what the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has since described a super cartel linked to not only Irish and Balkan groups, but also to the Camorra Mafia.

But when it came to De Vries, this was not his first rodeo. Known as a journalist, he had once served in the military. And as an investigative journalist he had confronted murderers and kidnappers; had targeted sex traffickers and highlighted police corruption (and had been briefly jailed for his efforts). At one point he had even published alleged new leads linked to the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy.

And by all accounts De Vries’ dedication to his craft had not waned a bit. But there was also a private De Vries—a man who one source described as not only serious, but a “tremendous listener” and “indescribably sincere.” This source, who even years after De Vries’ death preferred anonymity, pointed out that “as a journo De Vries never stopped, but privately he also had serious plans.” He also noted that the journalist was at the time—and unknown to the public—engaged to Dutch-Afghan journalist Tahmina Akefi, and that the two were to marry in the summer of 2022.

Yet on that summer evening of 2021any dreams or aspirations would come to a violent end. Upon leaving the television studio De Vries was sprayed with five bullets at close range. He suffered a severe head wound and lingered in intensive care until his death on July 15.

The public and the cops...

The killing prompted vigils and demonstrations, as well as a rapid-fire police investigation that immediately nabbed three suspects. Shock and outrage were the name of the day, as for many in the Netherlands De Vries was no less than icon. While not the subject of discussions at the time, his death would later be seen as a potential catalyst for change.

But the change has not yet come. In fact, the De Vries killing—and even the scores of murders associated with the Mocro Mafia and Nabil B.—are just the tip of the iceberg. For there has been a seemingly endless string of gangland hits across Europe, and invariably they all are linked directly or indirectly to one thing: the trafficking of cocaine.

The boom…

The scourge of cocaine is nothing new in Europe. According to a recently released United Nations Global Report on Cocaine 2023, there was a previous high in usage and seizures in 2006, but then came a second bump in 2014 at a time when global production was estimated to come to approximately 1,000 tonnes of cocaine per year.

Shockingly, by 2021 this had already doubled. And although there were first indications that deliveries slowed during the pandemic, the seizures—and killings—indicated otherwise.

Meanwhile, the ports of Amsterdam and Antwerp gradually overtook Spain as the primary landing point for South American narcotics bound for Europe. Criminal groups also became more sophisticated, masking cocaine in food ranging from bananas to bees wax while also resorting to large-scale shipping that varied from containers to fishing boats to legitimate courier services to even…

Submarines.

There is now the sinking feeling that even the effort to document the influx of cocaine is falling behind. The UN report notes that production and usage in Europe is currently an all-time high; that Belgium and Holland have become key trafficking points; that Balkan gangs are playing a major role—and that Europe and Central Europe now make up 21 percent of cocaine consumed world-wide.

Still, seizure statistics may seem surprisingly meager, with “only” 140 tonnes of coke seized in Western Europe (and the majority of this taken in Antwerp and Amsterdam) in 2022.

Then again, according to a Reuters report, three tonnes of cocaine discovered in a shipment of pineapple pulp to Poland in 2021 was valued at a whopping USD 761 mln. Which means that 140 tonnes can roughly be estimated to have been worth close to USD 35.5 bln.

Of course, the math is not quite that simple. Cocaine values depend on quality; how many times it can be cut; on the time it is predicted to hit the market, and, like any other commodity, many other factors in between.

On the other hand, the aforementioned 140 tonnes of seized coke likely represented only 10 percent of the 2022 market.

And the boom is only just beginning.

The devil in the details...

In fact, drug seizures in the world of crime stats are notoriously difficult to judge. On one hand, police departments are quick to highlight seizures and cross-border cooperation efforts, but at the same time they can be loath to attribute kilos of drugs seized to their own city, district or even country. Thus, a cooperative effort, perhaps led by Interpol, which involves the Netherlands, Germany and Poland may well result in a slew of press releases lauding successful arrests together with a plethora of contraband, but at the same time any expectation that any participating country wants to claim cocaine as “its own” is naïve.

This is nothing new. High crime rates doth not a career advance make. This is also not just a "European problem,” as, for example, the US has a long history of a murder cases and even victims a claimed (or unclaimed) based on county lines.

In short, if a murder takes place in the woods, but the body is discovered in the city… just whose case does the victim belong to? Especially when the going gets tough.

And kilos of cocaine? The conundrum is no different.

But if recent headlines are any indication, the new wave of cocaine distribution is already an inundation—and 140 tonnes as a figure does appear to be quite a low estimate.

Consider the following:

*In early April 2023, the World Customs Organization and United Nations announced that under operation “Tin Can,” which ran from Nov. 14 to Dec.9, 2022, almost 99 tonnes of cocaine were seized through the cooperation of 58 countries. Details were not immediately forthcoming, although the busts seemed quite European, as “additional support for Operation Tin Can was provided by Belgium Customs, German Customs, The Netherlands Customs and the United Kingdom Border Force and United States of America Customs and Border Protection [...],” according to the release.

*On Feb. 5, 2023 Portuguese police seized 4.5 tonnes of cocaine hidden in a banana shipment--drugs estimated to be worth more than USD 100 mln.

*On Feb. 15, 2023 Belgian police seized four tonnes of cocaine, according to the Associated Press.

*On April 14, police reportedly dismantled a cocaine "mega lab" in Spain with 200 kilograms of daily capacity, according to The Guardian.

*On April 17, cocaine worth nearly USD 440 mln was simply found floating in the sea off of the coast of Italy, according to CNN.

*On May 16--Italian police seized 2.7 tons of cocaine in a banana shipment, according to DW.com.

And then there are the Central European busts—and here even raids in Poland have raised eyebrows for their size and scope. For example, in mid-May of this year the Polish Central Bureau of Investigation (CBSP) shut down a lab and seized 5.8 tonnes of narcotics (cocaine and other drugs), and likewise, in early May the CBSP announced it had worked with Interpol, as well as German, Spanish Guardia Civil to arrest 15 who allegedly had trafficked 2.2 tonnes of marijuana worth PLN 137 mln; 8.7 tonnes of hash, worth PLN 350 mln and 942 kilograms of cocaine worth PLN 282 mln.

To somewhere. For again there lies the question: Which seizures are being attributed to whom? Certainly, key authorities are in the know, but it seems this applies to hardly anyone else.

Just who knows what?

“What I see as a huge problem is in that there is no centralized database for narcotics and cocaine,” said Wojciech Ciesla, an long-time Polish investigative journalist. And if there were such a database, Ciesla would know. He has also since 2010 served as the head of Fundacja Reporterów and is a co-founder of Investigate Europe collective, which cooperates closely with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

But like other journalists Ciesla has watched the influx of narcotics in a state of near-horror, and he has been frustrated by a consistent lack of information. And naturally his eyes have also been drawn to the ports.

“In Poland, I believe that the biggest hub is in the north, through the Tri-Cities," he said. “It is no coincidence that the DEA has a guy in Gdansk, as Gdansk they have the biggest seizures. And maybe there are many different agencies involved in investigation, including Customs and the CBS, but you don’t see reports in Poland that describe the flow.”

Ciesla also pointed out that when the flood of narcotics is actually addressed it is typically played down, with the authorities implying that cocaine does not enjoy great popularity in Poland; that it is not widely accessible because it is simply too expensive.

Ciesla sharply disagrees.

“Forty-five euros for a gram for much of the population is nothing," Ciesla said, adding that certainly the CBSP officers and prosecutors know the true totals and also stating that he believes they are "quite clued in" with regard to crime intelligence. That said, the issue is a hot potato, and not one that is comfortable for the current political class.

So what to make of the above? In fact, it is hard to say. For example, on a Europe-wide basis it is not known as to whether the November-December bust was tallied in the 2022 totals, or whether this will be counted for 2023. Or whether cited totals will counted toward Europe at all. But there still seems to be little doubt that when it comes down to drug seizures in Europe 2023 is on track to be a record year.

And if that does not make you think, the violence that got us here should.

A case of nerves...

When it comes to the threat of violence, Johan (named changed) has had enough. He in fact looks like the type who has had enough. In person he seems a bit too thin; his face is not pale but perhaps could be described as drawn. Sometimes his right hand appears to tremble. By his almost fragile appearance it would be easy to assume that he was a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Maybe in fact this is the case. During an interview he avoids details, preferring to speak in generalities while also backtracking on points to request that something he has begun to reveal should instead remain absolutely vague. Or that it should be retracted. More than a few times he even attempts to look at this correspondent's notes.

He also is persistent about remaining unidentified. Perhaps this is due to the fact that he does not have the authority to speak (which is quite possible). Or perhaps he is simply over-anxious. That said, he finally “agrees to agree” on a false name and an identity of sorts: "Johan" has served as an agent in the port of Antwerp and/or Rotterdam. He not only refuses to say which, but requests that he is attributed to both. Which could mean neither. He also requests that his position (in one or the other city or both) be disguised. Or left unsaid. Perhaps he was with the port authority, perhaps the police.

And he absolutely, positively, does not want to get into specific cases of violence. Even if violence is very much still on his mind.

“The De Vries case did not particular shock me," he said. "I think that because it was in the news it raised stress levels, but no, this was no shock. [Drug dealers] were killing all the time."

Johan noted while the public was aware of the drug wars, there was also a disconnect, and the fact that the majority of violence was directed at other dealers helped create a convenient myth of public safety that was too easy to believe.

“What you find is that the average ‘Johan’ thinks this is not his problem," he says, chuckling over his use of his own false name. "The general public believes these are Arabs or Africans. This is a bit of white superiority-complex here—even if at first glance when you look at the violence this does seem to be true. But the sadistic cases... I would not assume these are foreigners at all."

Johan waves away the next question—whether he is referring to torture, which more and more has come with the narcotics trade in Europe. Instead he turns to trafficking itself.

“It is hard to get people to understand the volume," he says. "Food is a good method of smuggling. We know that this is used [as a conduit] when delivering drugs [through trucking routes] much of the time."

“And the creativity is never-ending," he adds "Criminals pack drugs into fruit, into fish, into bees wax—yes, into bees wax. I feel that we miss a lot, but the effort is not futile"

Then he takes a moment to give pause.

“Sometimes I worry about food," he says.

But when queried again on the violence, he puckers his mouth and for several minutes he refuses to speak at all.

The Irish connection…

Yet Johan has a point. As shocking as this may sound, the De Vries murder was not even the tip of the iceberg. A deeper dive reveals long-running gang violence in The Netherlands and beyond that has gradually closed in on European markets. Which means a bit of a history lesson is in order, and here it may be best to start in Ireland with the Kinahan family, a gang that reached notoriety for not only killing, but for a highly controversial dabble in the world of boxing along the way.

Officially, among investigators and police forces, the Kinahan gang is now known as the Kinahan Organized Crime Group (KOCG) or the Kinahan Cartel. Founded by Christy Kinahan Sr., but de facto led by son Daniel Kinahan, the group has been estimated to have garnered some USD 1 bln through the drug trade, and even though under pressure, both Daniel Kinahan and Christy Kinahan are still at large.

This is not to deny that the pressure has been mounting for years. And it would be a mistake to assume that this pressure has come only from the police. The gang is infamous for having gone to war with a rival Irish group, the Hutch gang, led by Gerard Hutch a.k.a. “The Monk,” a figure possibly behind two of the biggest armed robberies in Ireland's history. Known for leading a “disciplined” lifestyle—and also for a semi-friendship with the later murdered investigative journalist Veronica Guerin—the Monk was not a man to be trifled with, and the subsequent war between the two gangs left at least 18 dead, including Hutch’s nephew, who was murdered in Spain.

But this was a feud that in fact left the Hutch band diminished. Needless to say the ensuing violence was something to behold.

One prime example is the now notorious Hotel Regency incident in which prior to a WBO boxing match for the European lightweight title four masked attackers—bearing flak jackets, army helmets (and with two disguised as Irish Garda Emergency Response Unit members)—assaulted and shot dead Kinahan gang member David Byrne.

At the Regency Daniel Kinahan was thought to have been the original target, and this soon triggered a bloody wave of retribution as the Monk’s enemies rolled out to flex their muscle.

For the Kinahans had muscle to flex, using enforcers such as Trevor Byrne (currently serving time for robbery, but suspected in the murder of Eddie Hutch); Lee Canavan (convicted of the 2016 murder of David Douglas); the volatile Leon G.; the now dead “debt collector” Gerard “Hatchet” Kavanagh; Kavanagh’s bother, Thomas (currently serving a 21-year prison sentence and linked to seven murders); Freddie Thompson (also serving time for the murder of David Douglas) and Gerard Mackin, who was convicted for nailing a man to a kitchen floor.

With a nail gun.

The above-mentioned talent still did not stop the Kinahans from hiring from abroad, as among the gang’s hit men there also appeared Estonian assassin Imre “the Butcher” Arakas, a crime legend who allegedly in the past killed “dozens” of Russian mafia members, and who is currently sought for extradition from Ireland by Lithuanian police for murder—and who also faces murder charges in Estonia and Spain.

But while the outright violence caught the attention of the Irish public, it was a far more traditional event that turned the Kinahans into international pariahs—this being Daniel Kinahan's wedding in 2017 in Dubai.

The wedding, which took place in the Burj Al Arab hotel, was not only reportedly recorded by the US DEA, but was also attended by a bevy of drug traffickers, who by their participation incidentally helped establish the Kinahans as being part of a “super cartel,” which then became a DEA priority. These attendees included Raffaele Imperiale, drug czar for the Camorra crime group; Ridouan Taghi, head of the Dutch Mocro mob, Ricardo Riquelme Vega a.k.a. El Rico, who reportedly specialized in organizing hits; Noufal “The Belly” Fassih and finally, Edin Gacanin, the alleged co-leader of the Bosnian Tito and Dino gang.

This was quite a crew. But visibility was a problem. And meanwhile international authorities broke through an encrypted messaging system that confirmed the alliance was moving drugs to Europe—to the tune of a monstrous USD 30 bln.

In short, these were serious players, and at every turn there was serious crime.

First there was Imperiale, who apart from his Camorra association was also a key boss tied to the Amato-Pagano clan, which had run drugs and guns for years. Moreover, in 2022, while already doing time for other charges, Imperiale was “arrested” in an Italian prison for his role in the shipment of EUR 800 mln of seized cocaine.

And tied to the gang was murder. This became evident when Imperiale turned state’s witness in January 2023—possibly due to the fact that he had been proven to have been in direct contact with Taghi, who not only led the Mocro mob, but who allegedly ordered hit after hit to control territory, wipe out informers and who has now been linked to the killing of De Vries.

Then there was Fassih, who was arrested in a Kinahan safe house and who is now doing 18 years for ordering hits. His right-hand man, Riquelme “El Rico" Vega, was also not only linked to murders ordered by Taghi, but he is believed to have been responsible for the 2016 murder and beheading of gang member Nabil Amzieb.

That beheading—just one incident in an Amsterdam gang war that left 17 dead—was, even as beheadings go, particularly grisly. Amzieb’s torso was found in a burning car. The next day, his head was found outside of an Amsterdam café in a move that mirrored the gang wars of Mexico—and which was thought to have sent a message to the competition.

But perhaps even this paled in comparison to the blood lust of Taghi, the man behind the Mocro mob.

A gangster on a tear…

The difference between Taghi and his other associates may well have been his never-ending appetite for assassinations. Officially linked to 10 killings, the number is likely far higher, and the number of attempted assassinations is unknown. Spanish police linked Taghi to a hit on a competitor as early as 2013, and by 2015 others in the cocaine trade had actually sought protection from Dutch police in order to avoid their own demise.

Such was the case with Ebrahim Buzhu, a dealer at the time who claimed he was “next on the list”—probably because he had aided in the kidnapping of a previous Taghi associate and knew what was coming down the pipe. Needless to say, Buzhu was definitely on someone’s hit list, as he was found murdered in 2022.

Then there was the attempt on another criminal, Samir Jabli, which resulted in the death of a random student. In the end, Jabli was also killed, and Taghi’s DNA was reportedly found on the bullets that did the deed.

Such was the carnage. Police had minor successes—including stopping an assassination by use of a bazooka—but for years Taghi remained at large, using multiple disguises and having de-registered himself from the official registry of citizens of the Netherlands along the way.

He was also busy in business. This was made clear when authorities broke through the Sky ECC encryption network: a trove of revealed messages sent between gangland associates tied Taghi and the Mocro mob to the super cartel in question. But further analysis was revelatory, as it was soon believed that the group by the end of the last decade controlled possibly up to... 100 percent of the Peruvian cocaine trade to Europe.

Which meant the stakes were getting higher. And this may be why that for a brief period Taghi was hitting everyone in sight. Meanwhile, he was also targeted by both Dutch and US authorities (as were the Kinahans)—even as it appears his own cooperation with the Balkan Tito and Dino gang (a.k.a. the Gacanins) was also ratcheting up.

Could this have made Taghi more paranoid? Or still more brazen? Or both? Getting inside the head of an infamous drug baron is never easy, but whatever his reasoning, the outcome has been difficult to deny. For example, the fact that Buzhu managed to evade assassins (in the end for several years) appears to have angered Taghi to the point that he simply decided to kill Buzhu’s friend, Ranko Scekic. And likewise he was not averse to targeting civilians, including members of the press.

Targeting crime writers…

As early as June 2016 Taghi had reportedly decided to kill former criminal-turned-crime-writer Martin Kok. Kok did manage to detect a car bomb in 2016. And he also survived a second attempt in December of that year when a hit man’s weapon failed to fire. Yet Kok would survive only until later that same night when he was shot and killed in the town of Laren on Dec. 16, 2016.

Interestingly, if Taghi was indeed behind the Kok murder, he apparently outsourced the hit to a member a Scottish crime group, with Hughes convicted as participating in the murder in 2022 and having lured Kok to his death from outside a sex club before Kok was "shot eight times by a gunman in Laren, in the Netherlands,on Dec. 8, 2016,” according to the BBC, which depicted the killing as “a favor” to a Moroccan gang.

The next month came a botched attempt that killed the wrong target, Khalid H., which eventually led to de Vries gaining interest in the case. For Khalid H..'s family happened to be close to the very person in charge of targeting hits for Taghi, this being Nabil B.

Nabil B., now fearing he would be killed by Taghi—or that he could even be murdered by his former buddy’s family—decided to go to the police, thus turning state's witness in the ongoing Marengo case, an investigation that would eventually land Taghi in prison.

But that was later. For even by 2017 Taghi’s run of violence was hardly over. The Mocro mob leader ordered one assassination after another while somehow still managing to evade police. Meanwhile, Nabil B. testified against Taghi and his mob, only to have his brother killed in revenge.

The blood-letting would continue for the next four years. In September 2019 Nabil B.’s lawyer, Derk Wiersum, was murdered in his home. Proof of links to Taghi have thus far been lacking, but two relatives are currently believed to have been involved in the hit.

It was at this point that the public began to come to the realization that the assassinations were out of control. The fact that a lawyer had been murdered drew outrage in the Netherlands and was decried as an attack on the “rule of law.” Taghi, who clearly had never respected the rule of law in any form, allegedly set his sights on De Vries.

And here it should be said that De Vries was not caught entirely unawares: he was warned by Dutch authorities that he was on Taghi’s hit list as early as 2019, although Taghi at the time denied wanting to kill De Vries, claiming this was never the case. Yet as predicted, De Vries was marked for death and was essentially executed on the street in 2021.

Money means killing...

Back to Johan. Or... kind of back to Johan, as further discussions (there were multiple meetings for this story) in fact revealed little apart from his disgust at the "never-ending appetite" of European cocaine users.

“The Peter de Vries murder seemed like a new level of violence," he says, "but lawyer or journalist? What's the difference."

He admits, however, that he worries about the future—fetanyl is beginning to raise its ugly head—and he also bemoans the rise of meth production, although this he points out is growing most rapidly in "the East.”

By “the East,” he means Poland and Central Europe.

But when asked about how narcotics typically arrive in the ports, he once again grows nervous and changes the subject, apparently preferring to speak about issues that are somewhat beyond his daily grind.

“The trucking routes are hard to monitor," he says. "Everyone talks about the ports, but that is because this is where the big seizures take place, but narcotics are placed in food shipments, fruit shipments, animal feed

“The ports are overwhelmed," he continues, “but when a ship comes in there are procedures, and there are successes. In order to catch the right trucks, dogs are not enough. You need intel. Very good intel."

The long arm of the law…

Intel and awareness. For just as big seizures in ports draw attention to the ports in the press, there are some arguments among police types that go as follows: mafias beget murder, and murder begets more murder, which leads to more attention…

Which leads to more arrests.

In short, the smart mafias are those that remain quiet—and in a sense they are also those that refrain from violence. This should drive the narco-killing down. Moreover, on the surface this would mean that the days of the super cartel are over—in part due to the proclivity to violence. And at least when it comes to many of the prime players, the last two years of arrests and prosecutions would seem to prove this right.

This also means that an arrest such as the El Rico bust was, as the above theory goes, bound to come, as even in the world of the mafia, El Rico was excessive. Likewise, this arrest allegedly shut down a ring of assassins that had supported the Mocro group and possibly the Kinahans as well.

The killings and arrests may also have impacted the flow of Peruvian cocaine to Europe. For example, the arrest of Comorra’s Imperiale in August 2021 may have taken place in prison, but this was part of a coordinated move by Europol and other law enforcement agencies to target organized crime--including the Ndragheta mob in Italy. This operation nabbed 36 persons, and was seen as a crippling blow due to the massive EUR 800 mln cocaine seizure that came with the raids.

Finally, there were the arrest and trials of Taghi and his gang. On Jan. 6, 2023 the Marengo case restarted in The Netherlands, with six of Taghi’s group of 17 now also charged in connection with the killing of De Vries. This followed a retrial order, and interesting is that four new suspects are to be put on trial this summer, with these including a Polish national, Konrad W., who allegedly provided weapons and a getaway car the day of the murder.

Curiously, the trial only covers six murders, but here Nabil B. still plays a role, as he has been a critical informant since even before his meetings with the deceased De Vries.

Which means, at least to a point, the mafias are broken, and justice may be served.

Maybe…

Hopefully…

But probably not.

Some would argue that on the one hand there is always a new group ready to step in. Others would point out that getting the convictions you want while prosecuting organized crime is no sure thing. There may be something to this, as even in the current Mocro case the cracks are beginning to show. Some reports indicate that once again Nabil B. has stopped cooperating with police and prosecutors. Considering that he has seen a lawyer, a journalist/confidant and his brother killed along the way, this is not much of a surprise.

Then there are the Kinahans. If the Irish press is correct, both Christy Kinahan’s and Daniel Kinahan’s days of freedom are numbered. Bank accounts have been frozen and international pressure has flushed both from the safe haven of Dubai. US pressure has also effectively shut down MTK, the upstart boxing outfit headed by Daniel Kinahan that at one point worked closely with a bevy of stars, including lineal heavyweight boxing champ Tyson Fury. Boxing also exposed another Kinahan link, John M. arrested in September 2022 in Spain in what was trumpeted as the “first clear public sign of progress in international investigation into the cartel,” according to the Irish Times.

This arrest came as part of a concerted effort by the US DEA, the Spanish Civil Guard, and the An Garda Síochána, with the US side claiming that John M. “worked for the [cartel] for several years, including as an enforcer,” and that he facilitated "international drug shipments for the organisation from South America.”

But do such high-profile arrests mean the flow of drugs has come to a stop? Or that the threat of violence has now diminished?

Not likely.

First, the Kinahan-Mocro-Camorra-Tito-and-Dino super cartel, however crippled, has likely not gone inactive. Billion-dollar gangs do not disappear overnight, and despite police successes in 2022, violence in Northern Europe has not ceased. Worse, cops have pointed out that gang wars across Europe have increasingly used more powerful weapons—including grenades—and even though Antwerp’s 2022 haul of seized cocaine came in 27 percent higher than the previous year at 110 tonnes of coke, according to the UN report on narcotics, this is guestimated to be only 10 percent of the total amount.

Moreover, gangs have become more and more aggressive. In both Holland and Belgium even the elite have faced heightened risk. Case(s) in point: Belgian Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne returned to work in February this year after spending more than a month under police protection in a hidden safe house with his family. For the second time this year. Meanwhile, Dutch Princess Amalia abandoned her studies due to threats, and other top politicians, including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, were given enhanced close protection in the wake of the killing of De Vries.

There was also the fact that the Kinahan super cartel was not the only gang in town, and recent busts—including a 2021 round-up of 1,400 drug traffickers across Europe—may be a prelude to a pitched battle to take over lost markets.

Finally, there are other regions, other sources and other mafia wars. While the Kinahan-Mocro-Tito-and-Dino-Camorra cartel may have controlled a third of European cocaine imports to Europe, two Montenegrin groups, the Kavac and Skaljari gangs, have dominated cocaine’s entry through the Balkans even while fighting among themselves. These battles have resulted in perhaps 50 victims (or possibly double that), and the brutality has also featured torture chambers and, reportedly, even infiltration into the ranks of Serbian police.

A bit of success...

The good news is that gangs were considerably weakened by the 2021 roundup, this coming primarily through the cracking of the Sky ECC encryption network that had been preferred by criminals for incognito communication. Even better, the Sky ECC intel-based busts just keep coming. The bad news is that there are still gangs upon gangs upon gangs, with plenty ready to fill in the gaps when the larger cartels break down.

This may have been made evident May 12, 2023, ironically due to a successful series of arrests described in a Europol release that noted cooperation “across three countries [...] that resulted in the take-down of the biggest drug trafficking criminal organisation in the Balkan region.”

The release continued to say that “some 23 individuals were arrested, including the three leaders of this criminal organisation considered as High Value Targets by Europol,” adding that seizures included “15 high-end cars, luxury jewels and watches for an estimated amount of about EUR 2 mln, and almost EUR 3 mln in cash.”

Additionally seized, according to the statement, were weapons and explosives, including two sniper rifles, three automatic rifles, pistols, silencers, 24 detonator capsules, five devices for the remote initiation of detonators, 13 packages of plastic explosives and several hundred rounds of ammunition.

In other words, quite the bust. But just which gang was brought down remained a mystery at press time. Interpol only noted that the crime group “was known in the criminal underworld for its violence and involvement in high-end robbery,” and that “one of the targets arrested in Serbia was a former leader of the infamous Pink Panther criminal group.”

From the size of seizures linked to the gang—including 700 kilograms of cocaine seized in Rotterdam—this also rings of Tito and Dino and the Kinahans. Bosnian newspapers did name one gang leader as Dino Muzaferovic, also known as “Cezar,” who was already serving time and “re-arrested in the prison cell in Italy where he is currently serving a four-year sentence.” A Muzaferovic cohort, Edin Balic, was allegedly also detained in Croatia.

These ties, however, also appeared to have included Miroslav “Deda" Starcevic, allegedly close to the infamous Montenegrin Kavac gang. To say this is a concern would be putting it mildly. Known for extreme violence, the Kavac gang has waged a long and brutal war with bitter rivals, the Skaljaris, not only in Montenegro but across the Balkans. And this could mean that the Mocro gang and the aforementioned super cartel were actually aligned with something even worse.

Or there could be a more logical explanation: the Kinahan-Mocro-Camorra-Tito-and-Dino gang was actually in the process of being replaced.

In truth, alignment at a high level—and certainly any type of long-lasting cooperation—is likely illusory. Clear-headed businessmen in the mob do exist, but so do plenty along the lines of the Taghis and the Kavac gunmen, loose cannons who are quite difficult to control. Additionally, crime experts believe there are some 300 different gangs operating in the Balkans at present, and that groups function as cells so that a true end to cocaine mafia groups simply is not in sight.

The cellular aspect of cooperation is important: the general tendency in Europe is simply no longer based on the traditional Italian mafia/family style of crime gang. While the legend of omerta is romantic, it is has also been heavily romanticized, as honor among thieves is rare and not all gangsters are willing to sacrifice themselves and take their secrets to the grave

Instead, Europe has become infested with smaller crime groups. This is one reason as to why crime gang numbers in Western Europe are counted (semi-officially) in the thousands. This also makes prosecutions more difficult, as the arrest of one crime boss does not necessarily mean the bust of an entire organization. Modern crime gangs often are made up of only five our seven players who cooperate with other cells that may be even smaller.

Here the Sky ECC encryption breakthrough was as much a godsend as it was a worry. Investigators were reportedly delighted by the treasure trove of communications, but also very much surprised by the number of inter-connecting networks involved.

Finally, there is the simple fact that prosecuting narcotics cases—which are often linked to money laundering—is an exceptionally challenging task. Here human error—or a tendency to wink and look the other way (possibly for cash)—still plays a part.

For while key members of the Mocro mob are awaiting trial in The Netherlands, Kinahan leaders Christie and Daniel are still at large, having somehow fled Dubai just in the nick of time.

Then there is also Edin “Tito” Gacanin, considered not only the true leader of the Tito and Dino gang and one of the top 50 drug dealers in Europe, but also a man who has been called the "European Escobar" by the US DEA. Gacanin’s arrest in November 2022 during Europol’s Operation Desert Light was seen as a major triumph by Western law enforcement.

But the celebration did not last long

For on December 29, 2022 something went very much awry. Gacanin was bizarrely freed even though Dutch prosecutors were then working overtime for the trafficker’s extradition.

And just like that he was gone.

Narco prosecutions

Win some, lose some.

But the cocaine shipments never stop.

Forty-five euros for a gram for much of the population is nothing," Ciesla said, adding that certainly the CBSP officers and prosecutors know the true totals and also stating that he believes they are "quite clued in" with regard to crime intelligence. That said, the issue is a hot potato, and not one that is comfortable for the current political class.

And if that does not make you think, the violence that got us here should.

A case of nerves...

And he absolutely, positively, does not want to get into specific cases of violence. Even if violence is very much still on his mind.

"The De Vries case did not particular shock me," he said. "I think that because it was in the news it raised stress levels, but no, this was no shock. [Drug dealers] were killing all the time."

"What you find is that the average ‘Johan’ thinks this is not his problem," he says, chuckling over his use of his own false name. "The general public believes these are Arabs or Africans. This is a bit of white superiority-complex here—even if at first glance when you look at the violence this does seem to be true. But the sadistic cases... I would not assume these are foreigners at all."

Johan waves away the next question—whether he is referring to torture, which more and more has come with the narcotics trade in Europe. Instead he turns to trafficking itself.

"It is hard to get people to understand the volume," he says. "Food is a good method of smuggling. We know that this is used [as a conduit] when delivering drugs [through trucking routes] much of the time."

"And the creativity is never-ending," he adds "Criminals pack drugs into fruit, into fish, into bees wax—yes, into bees wax. I feel that we miss a lot, but the effort is not futile"

Then he takes a moment to give pause.

"Sometimes I worry about food," he says.

But when queried again on the violence, he puckers his mouth and for several minutes he refuses to speak at all.

The Irish connection…

But this was a feud that in fact left the Hutch band diminished. Needless to say the ensuing violence was something to behold.

At the Regency Daniel Kinahan was thought to have been the original target, and this soon triggered a bloody wave of retribution as the Monk’s enemies rolled out to flex their muscle.

With a nail gun.

In short, these were serious players, and at every turn there was serious crime.

Then there was Fassih, who was arrested in a Kinahan safe house and who is now doing 18 years for ordering hits. His right-hand man, Riquelme "El Rico" Vega, was also not only linked to murders ordered by Taghi, but he is believed to have been responsible for the 2016 murder and beheading of gang member Nabil Amzieb.

But perhaps even this paled in comparison to the blood lust of Taghi, the man behind the Mocro mob.

A gangster on a tear…

Targeting crime writers…

Money means killing...

"The Peter de Vries murder seemed like a new level of violence," he says, "but lawyer or journalist? What's the difference."

By “the East,” he means Poland and Central Europe.

"The trucking routes are hard to monitor," he says. "Everyone talks about the ports, but that is because this is where the big seizures take place, but narcotics are placed in food shipments, fruit shipments, animal feed

"The ports are overwhelmed," he continues, "but when a ship comes in there are procedures, and there are successes. In order to catch the right trucks, dogs are not enough. You need intel. Very good intel."

The long arm of the law…

Which leads to more arrests.

Curiously, the trial only covers six murders, but here Nabil B. still plays a role, as he has been a critical informant since even before his meetings with the deceased De Vries.

Which means, at least to a point, the mafias are broken, and justice may be served.

Maybe…

Hopefully…

But probably not.

But do such high-profile arrests mean the flow of drugs has come to a stop? Or that the threat of violence has now diminished?

Not likely.

A bit of success...

These ties, however, also appeared to have included Miroslav "Deda" Starcevic, allegedly close to the infamous Montenegrin Kavac gang. To say this is a concern would be putting it mildly. Known for extreme violence, the Kavac gang has waged a long and brutal war with bitter rivals, the Skaljaris, not only in Montenegro but across the Balkans. And this could mean that the Mocro gang and the aforementioned super cartel were actually aligned with something even worse.

Or there could be a more logical explanation: the Kinahan-Mocro-Camorra-Tito-and-Dino gang was actually in the process of being replaced.

For while key members of the Mocro mob are awaiting trial in The Netherlands, Kinahan leaders Christie and Daniel are still at large, having somehow fled Dubai just in the nick of time.

But the celebration did not last long

For on December 29, 2022 something went very much awry. Gacanin was bizarrely freed even though Dutch prosecutors were then working overtime for the trafficker’s extradition.

And just like that he was gone.

Narco prosecutions

Win some, lose some.

But the cocaine shipments never stop.

Cover story: Murder, the mob... and cocaine

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